


Right At Home

by Rotschild



Series: Monsters and Heroes [10]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rotschild/pseuds/Rotschild
Summary: After Talons latest attack on active agents,  Overwatch prepares for war. Pretty pissed off about the fact that the Reaper still wants to play the bad guy, Jack gives him a lecture for old times sake.





	Right At Home

**Author's Note:**

> That took soo long and at first this one should include the fight with Talon, but then the Reaper sulked and the Soldier talked and it all got weirdly long and kinda all over the place. 
> 
> Well. Hanzo is in and he is a chameleon. His two noodle dragons have to be good for something. Ask me what Genjis noodle can do? 
> 
> But because I am an immature little shit, the answer would be Lucio. Oops.

Jack sat alone in the conference room and waited for an update that most likely would never come. Not because Genji and Jesse weren't in severe danger on this mission, but because they were both too much of annoying little shits to report in when they needed any kind of help. But what was Jack thinking? He wasn't their commander anymore. If a report would go in, it would land on Winstons desk first, anyway. 

Still, old habits died hard was his guess. Jack sat motionless like a statue and waited for hours, head leaned into his left balled fist and stared down the bright orange globe that Athena projected onto the middle of the conferencetable. His tired eyes followed the symbols of the ComSigns his three Agents carried around the world to Hanamura Castle. 

'Not my agents', he reminded himself even if it was never helping. He still felt at all times like the UN demanded a report. As if suddenly some guy in a ten grands designer suit would show up and ask him 'And what was your part in all of this?!' and demand justifications on legal terms about their forbidden 'Overwatch Activity'.

An annoyed sigh and an opened bottle of cheap whiskey later Jack fumbled with a touchpad. Not for any practical use, but to read up on old mission files, newspapers from around the world and to take his mind off of things while he waited. He whished he could say he did so with grace and patience. But honestly, no. Not being there with them and having no distraction from the horrors of the usual 'what if-...?'s made him irrationally angry and short tempered. Thank god he was alone, he thought sardonically and knocked back another glass of stale and burning booze. The sad part was, he couldn't even get drunk anymore.

Boring hours came and went and his fourth glass without any intoxicating effect made him even more cranky - as suddenly a fourth agent ComSign went life in Hanamura. Jack rubbed his burning eyes and squinted at the shown ID. Now, that couldn't be right. It was an emergency signal, yes, but the numbers were all wrong.

"Athena?", he rasped and and coughed drily to get his voice back. "I need a list of all Overwatch agents ... at least five years before the Petras Act."

The last marker rang somehow familiar.

"Of course, Commander Morrison. Archive opened, file 8.53 Oscar Beta Alpha section 45 extracted and on display. "

Jack flinched and wrinkled his nose in distaste. With a huff he let his security profile be for now and went through the file instead. He found his mark pretty easily. It was a Blackwatch badge of one Jesse McCree. This ridiculous black and shady Cowboy outfit looked even more ridiculous in a picture as it did in person back then. Jesse scowled out of his old file photo as if he liked to chew and eat his cigars. 

The old Blackwatch ComSign wasn't registered as 'active' and there was no reason for it to appear in Hanamura at all. Maybe a headhunter who got hold of it somehow? But it was sending an emergency signal. There was no reason for anyone besides his agents to activate it and they, all three of them, had their own...?

And their ComSigns stayed silent. Curious...

Whoever held and activated it - and that could absolutely be 'anyone' - they got left behind as the Overwatch agents took their leave. It was possible that Jesse had held onto his old badge as a memento and somehow got it onto Hanzo Shimada to make it easier to track him for a second try. 

But Shimada would have to be pretty fast on foot to make this a valid explanation. While three active ComSigns slowly crept back over the globe, the old Blackwatch twin moved from Hanamura southward to new Tokyo and then to the west to Osaka. The movement was quick and weirdly precise. The twin went even further westward to the mainland where somewhere on the coast by Shanghai the signal went suddenly offline again. Weird 'and' curious, indeed. 

Jack dropped off in the early hours, head in his hand and leaning over his paper notes, while his right hand still had a death grip on the whiskey tumbler.

The haunting sound of roaring ship engines crept into his dreams and made him jump awake right as his agents came home. The hangar was only one street away. Thank god it was finally over. 

Jack lifted himself still dozy and a little disoriented out of his seat. Groaning he stretched his sore back and rubbed his bleary eyes. As he turned and opened them again, he blinked right into a set of glowing red ones. "FUCK ME?!", he was sure he felt the life draining from his body in a sudden shock of startled coldness. "Gabe, what the hell is WRONG with you?!"

With a bone white face and a hammering heart Jack had to sit down again before he got himself a damn fucking heart attack. "How did you even-...?!"

With a humorless snort the Reaper lifted his claw in which he held an unnerving familiar badge. "No time for that. Your security systems are abysmal by the way", he said right as Athena greeted him with a warm and nice, "Welcome, agent Reyes."

Jack blinked dumbfounded and turned his head to the orange glowing globe, and yes. Right there on Watchpoint Gibraltar Gabriels old ComSign was active and his familiar ID mocked Jack like a stretched up middle finger. "You know what, I really don't care", he groaned as he stood up again and stepped right into the Reapers space to pull him into a strong hug. 

But while the Reaper let him, he didn't reciprocate nor took he off his mask. So Jack leaned back and furrowed his brows with a presentiment for bad news. "Why did you come 'here'? Are you alright?!"

The Reapers following growl was so deep, Jack could feel it rumble against his chest. "There was... a 'miscalculation' on Sombras part."  
He seemed angry and unsettled. So much that it made Jack feel nervous in return. He opened his mouth to ask - as suddenly the Watchpoint sirens started blaring and the tumbler rattled in strong bursts over the tabletop. Bright red lights shone in Jacks eyes while his attention shrunk instantly down to Athenas voice.

"Activated emergency beacon in hangar 1. Echo 3. Emergency personnel requested, code Omega Q.17."

'Agent dead or dying'.

Jack couldn't remember how he even got there. In his next conscious moment he clawed himself through marred metal cladding to reach the dropships emergency lever that opened up the wedged ships exit and let down the loading ramp. While the mechanical parts creaked into motion, bullet hole ridden cladding cracked and fell to the ground and thick smoke welled from the stomach of the slayed beast. The ramp got stuck not even halfway down and Jack had to jump up and pull with his full weight, while Lena pressed against it from the inside. The ramp crashed to the asphalt as through the pressure the bent hinges broke. Thick black smoke welled up from within and instantly burned Jacks throat and eyes. Coughing he stretched blindly his hand out to help Lena to the ground only to get forcefully pulled out of reach. Someone pressed an oxygen mask to his face. "Don't worry old friend, we will take it from here!", boomed Reinhardts voice over the racket the faulty shipengines were still making. "Here here, come here. Sit. ", Angela pressed down on his shoulders and he sat with weak knees like a especially obedient dog. "What the hell happened?", he rasped, not sure if he asked about the last minutes or the destroyed dropship.

The ship was a wreck. Bullet holes perforated the black cladding, some of them big enough to push an entire hand through. The fuselage was torn open and fluids were leaking out. As Reinhardt got the passengers to safety a pool of it caught fire and Brigitte got on it with a bright red fire extinguisher while her father, always the fearless sod, got inside and tried to forcefully shut down the machinery. 

"Well, you got yourself a head full of dangerous fumes and cut open both of your arms, is what happened!", snapped Angela and got him finally out of his head. Immediately Jack looked down at his arms. His palms were burned red and the cuts on his arms were deep and bled freely, even if his nanite swarm was already working on it. "Oh...", he mumbled. He didn't even notice. 

He must have blacked out there again, because suddenly the Reaper was right there, in front of him. His hands laid heavily on Jacks shoulders and the sharp tips of his thumb talons nicked his collarbones under his black shirt. He shook him gently like one would do to keep a very sleepy person awake. "You know that the war is over, Jacky?", he murmured just between them. "The crisis? It's alright. No Bastions and no troopers are coming for us."

Jack blinked numbly. His head felt simultaneously like it was packed full of wool and empty of any kind of thought. First he looked at the Reaper and then to the wreckage of the dropship. "Are you sure...?"

Suddenly Angelas Staff crashed down on the Reapers head. "REAPER?!", she screeched like a spooked banshee and lunged out again. As the Staff went down a second time, Gabriel growled dangerously and puffed out into a cloud of smoke, only to form again instantly right behind Jack. Using him as a shield, he grabbed for the Caduceus. "Stop that! Remember your hippocratic oath, Doctor!"

"ANGELA!", echoed Lúcio distressed voice over all the racket and she instantly perked up. Jittery she looked at Reaper, then over her shoulder to Lucio and his patient. At least Jacks head was clear enough now to send her on her mission without to start a fight. "It's alright, Angela. Go. He won't shoot anybody."

The Reaper huffed in a offended manner, while Angela pulled a face as skeptic as could be. But at least she didn't pull her handgun. "I hope you know what you are doing, Jack", she sneered in so much distaste it made Jacks racing thoughts come to a sudden halt. He jumped as the Reaper laid his claws again on his shoulders and bowed over him in a uncommon protective display. "Noted Doctor. Now go away."

Angela snorted and took her leave with a simple leap to the other side of the hall. Jack let out a deep sigh. "You should stop antagonizing my agents."  
The Reaper shot right back. "As soon as they stop antagonizing 'me', Jackass."

Jack wanted to bicker back about the Reapers lingering threat of death and injury, but then Angela in the distance took a step aside and exposed her patient to his line of sight. Lena was fine. She was cradled by a very distressed Winston and her wounds were attended by Lucio. But Genji laid stretched out on the ground beside her. And he was so eerily still. 

Jack was there before he even knew what happened, without the oxygen mask and burning lungs still full of soot. He wanted to ask but he only got Genjis name out before he convulsed in wrecking coughs.  
The Reaper was right there behind him again.  
Alarmed Winston pulled Lena, almost unconscious and heaving, under himself and took an angry as well as protective stance above her. "Back for another round, Reaper?"

"Ready when 'you' are, Monkey", the Reaper bit back like a wild dog. Jack wanted so deck them both. "How... ugh... Is he?!", he coughed out and tried to ignore the quarrel that happened behind him. Angela and Lúcio shared a look over Genjis damaged body that made instantly clear that none of them was sure. 

Angela looked up first. "We have to get him to the medic bay. Jack, are you fit enough to lift him?"  
Jack, caught on the wrong foot, felt embarrassment prickle in his cheeks. He couldn't feel his fingertips and his knees felt still like water. "I-..."

"I will", the Reaper jumped in and let Winston growl and grumble on his own. "Lead the way."  
He didn't wait for any kind of permission as he picked the cyborg up. He was especially cautious that none of his claws left additional marks on Genjis outer shell as he pushed his arms under his body. Genji, even with a lot of Aluminium and carbon fiber, was so much heavier than an ordinary person, that it needed Reinhardt or a supersoldier of some kind to carry him. So of course the Reaper wasn't that much bothered by his weight. 

Lucio stared pale and horrified up to him and Angela gripped her staff just that little bit tighter. Jack sighed deeply and tried for the peaceful route. "It's okay. We will get him there quickly."

Angela didn't look convinced at all... But her eyes flickered to Genji and back. "Winston?", she said. "I will need Athenas help! And take Lena with us, too!"

"Of course", boomed Winstons deep voice as he carefully lifted a half fallen asleep Lena onto her feet. So they went. Jack went ahead and opened the security doors for them. He didn't know how to feel about, that the Reaper was at all times right beside him and didn't need him or Angela or 'anyone' to show him the way. Meanwhile he cradled Genjis limb body in his arms like one would carry a carton of raw eggs. It turned Jacks stomach, so much it reminded him of the scene he got to witness as Jesse lost his arm. 

At the station, Angela shooed Jack and the Reaper out of the way as soon as Genji was laid down onto  
The cot, that was at all times especially reserved for him. 

Winston sat Lena down on the second one and placed himself in an obvious hostile manner between her and the Reaper.  
Lena didn't take much notice of anything. The stress and the fumes made her tired and woozy. Her skin was paper dry and looked downright yellow while her eyes glazed over as soon as she wasn't startled awake by movement in her narrowed down field of vision. "Jesse", she rasped with a voice made of sawdust. "I lost Jesse in Hanamura. "

Jack didn't feel surprised, not really. He didn't see Jesse getting pulled out the wreck, so why had he this nagging feeling that something was horribly wrong?  
He couldn't name it, he couldn't remember. 

Winston laid one big Hand onto Lenas nape to calm her down, but it wasn't really helping. While Lucio attended to the scratches and shallow burns on her face and arms and listened to her lungs, she rambled on in exhaustion. "I tried to get him back!", she murmured roughly with a hiccup in her voice. "I tried, I-... I turned-... but...they had heavy machinery and jammed our communication and-... They would have shot us down! I-..."

Tanks. Jack took a glimpse at the Reaper who rhythmically clenched and opened his fists in a rare display of uneasiness. Lena began to cry through exhaustion and emotional turmoil. Winston was right there and held her, while he took a half turn and starred daggers at the black hooded figure beside him. "I hope", he growled like the big intimidating animal he was, "That you have a good explanation for this. "

"Lucio, would you help me, please?", asked Angela from the other cot and Lucio changed direction instantly with a look full of worry. "And you two, if you want to start a fight, do it outside of my med bay!"

The Doctor was in and she was angry. As Jack leaned in and over he got the horrifying reason why that was. While Lucio had worked around Lena, Angelas priority had of course been Genji. She knew everything about how to treat him. But therefor she had to get him free first and establish a connection to Athena through the 'Blackbox' located in Genjis spine. 

Genjis outer shell wasn't broken or penetrated, but viciously damaged nonetheless. He must have run into an entire standing army for his armor to get this badly scraped and battered. No, he looked as if he walked right into bastion fire. Jack knew how his body would look like if the rest of his fragile flesh wasn't that well protected. 

There was no use in trying to open up Genjis armor the usual way. While none of the bullets that struck Genji penetrated the dense metal and carbon fiber of his shell, the force of impact did warp the materials and made it impossible to just open them up in the way Angela and Lucio were used to. They had to team up and use blunt force to literally break him out of it. The noise alone was nauseating. 

"What the fucking hell happened out there, Lena", Jack murmured and tried his best to stay collected. He needed to think. 

"Talon soldiers", responded the Reaper for her. "A lot of them. They got hold of a pretty good mercenary group in the last months. You would know, I guess. "

"Yes", answered Angela without any amusement. "'I' would know. Why were they there?! Your-... Your god damn spy got them into that and now see!"

She made a quick and angry gesture to Genji and Lena, not even needed to mention the one that was missing.

The Reaper clenched his fists. "She isn't a spy. Not really. And she is capable of mistakes like anyone else. She assumed Talon would want the second Shimada alive. She didn't take his last noted killing spree into account. They were done wasting their resources on him. "

"So they went in with an entire army of mercenaries to kill him?", asked Jack and couldn't even imagine what happened there. The Reaper tilted his head. "Do you remember Venice?"

Jacks face flushed instantly a dark and angry red. "'Of course' I remember Venice, you asshole!"  
The Reaper snorted in dark amusement. "Then you have an Idea how they planned to swarm him. Guess your agents are the only reason he got out there alive. "

Lúcios eyes went wide. "He's alive?"  
But his attention got instantly caught by Genjis deep intake of breath as Angela was finally able to connect him to his backup system. "Athena, run some diagnostics for me, won't you?", she huffed as she was finally able to unhook Genjis face plate. Jack felt pure dread pool in his stomach as he finally got to see his face. His skin was a ghostly kind of blue while his eyes stared blankly ahead. He laid completely motionless and not even his eyes were twitching. 

"Is he alive?!", screeched the Reaper and took a sudden jump forward. Angela didn't react while her fingers ran frantically over her tablet. In a second Athena projected Genjis vitals in a bright orange hologram right over the bed in fast bursts of information and Angela, as the professional she was, got all she needed from one look and two tips to her touch-screen above the cot. "I would think so, he's breathing fine at least", she bit out sarcastically. 

Carefully she turned Genjis head and used a penlight to test the response of his pupils, while Lucio beside her pressed two fingers to the pulse point of Genjis right ear. His shoulders dropped in relief. "His pulse is steady and strong", he said but his brows furrowed in irritation. "He shouldn't be so cold, though. His core temperature dropped badly."

Angela hummed, laid the penlight aside and made some adjustments to Athenas established connection. She loaded the report of Genjis blackbox on the holoscreen and Jack couldn't even comprehend all the bright red error messages that flooded the action log. "It's curious", she murmured. "Somehow they forced a shutdown on his motor functions. Beside of that he's absolutely fine. And pretty much conscious."

Lucio perked up instantly with eyes wide and full of relief. "He is?"  
Angela smiled. "Yep. But we have to warm him up for awhile. When his body isn't in motion, there isn't much for generating heat after all."  
She still looked at Lucio and grinned like a cat as he coughed and looked away. 

Jack sat down heavily on the seat at Genjis bedside. And while the crisis was not over and Jesse was still missing, a weight dropped off of his shoulders and he got dizzy with relief. 

"Datacheck complete. Reinstallment from Backup #87.6 complete. Reboot in progress."

Suddenly Genjis body convulsed with a deep Intake of rasping breath. His whole body shuddered and his left Hand shot out aimlessly to claw at anything he was able to reach. He got hold of Lúcios right arm and his grip was surely painful as hell, because Lucio let out a shout and tried in a sudden panic to pry him off. 

"Stop hiding! ", Genji screamed in violent anger like a mad man, while he shook like a leaf from the cold. His voice was warped by his clattering teeth so much, he was hard to understand. Jack sprung to his feet on pure reflex and held his shoulders down, while the Reaper took hold of Genjis arm and unlocked his iron grip from Lucio. Dark purple imprints of his fingers stayed behind. 

It was hard to keep him down, Genji was strong and lean like a wild tiger. "I know you are there!", he screamed with wide eyes completely out of his mind. Jack fell into his head space and got lost in a horrifying memory of Gabriel, grey and dying, while he roared and rambled about unholy doctors and needles full of ash. Jack remembered the vicious headaches and endless nosebleeds even when he was barfing his guts out. "Genji! GENJI!!"

But Genji wasn't listening, just stared wide eyed in the direction of the doorway. "Don't you 'dare' to sidle. I can 'see' you! come out, brother!!"

\- And it was like somehow somewhere a puzzle piece clicked into place. Jack looked up, followed Genjis line of sight and suddenly 'he' was there. 'Brother'. 

Hanzo Shimada snapped into existence like a crackling blue fire, his eyes bright with ancient power. Jack somehow knew, he had to have always been there since the dropship went down, but somehow the second Shimada wore a convenient cloak of unobtrusiveness. Jack was sure he even had seen him. But he hadn't been 'aware' of him at all. 

"You aren't a damn chameleon! Stop hiding and 'talk' to them!", roared Genji between hieving and exhausted breaths. 

It seemed that the second Shimada only now let go of his camouflage completely. Angela let out a sudden shout as she got aware of him, while Lucio stepped instinctively between the cot and the possible threat to his patient. Since he was unarmed he grasped a lancet. 

The second Shimada sneered at the puny medical knife turned in his direction, as if he took it as a personal affront. "I'm not hiding", he growled and Jack thought 'yes', because this man looked as confrontational as one could get. He wasn't hiding. He was 'waiting'.

Suddenly Jack felt his skin break out in goosebumps and his hair stand up on edge. Shimada stepped nearer and the ancient power in his veins set his skin ablaze in ice blue fire. "I have lost something important. And you will help me get it back. Besides that I have no use for any of you."  
Dumbfounded, Jack looked up in search for help, no Idea what he should say to this. The Reaper, always so helpful, stepped in.

"Well", the he growled. "You have to wait for your turn there, buddy. Talon needs it's pound of flesh first."

Jacks eyes went wide and he shook his head in angry irritation. "What the hell are you on about?!"

The Reaper let go of Genji and was instantly replaced by Lucio, who still didn't let Hanzo out of his sight, but helped Genji on his quest to sit upright. The cyborg groaned in pain like an old man. 

"Don't want to disturb this heart-warming, brotherly reunion, so heart-felt and honest", The Reaper sassed in his usual sarcastic finger quotes and a wide shrug on top of it. "But well, Talon will be right here in about one hour and thirty three minutes and pretty much shoot your balls off, if you aren't prepared", Jack could hear the nasty smile in his voice. "If there's something left to shoot at all."

"Oh", murmured Hanzo and took a wider stance against the Reaper. Both of them towering over Genjis bedside left and right. Genji groaned and rolled his eyes, while Jack tried to figure out what the deal was between these two. For the Reaper it seemed pretty personal. 

But... Wow... Sorry, what?!

"Talon is on its way? Now?!", Jack felt his stomach drop. "Why?! You said no troopers?!"

The Reaper didn't break his staring contest with Hanzo. "I meant Omnic troopers, Jack, keep up. And Talon does what Talon does. Comes in and destroys things, because it's all they can."

"And how do you think they can?", Winston said. "Athena is the guardian of this place, beside all of us. It's our base and our home. Why would they even dare?!"

The Reaper let out an ugly snort.  
"I could break through your Security System with an old badge. How hard do you think will it be for Talon to break in with an inside man who opens all the doors for them?"

Winston bared his teeth with an impressive display of red faced rage, but Jack still couldn't quiet catch up. "Wait, wait wait! Inside man?!"

The Reaper shrugged again.  
"That would be me, of course."  
He turned and suddenly halted as he caught Jacks blank stare. His disappointment must have showed pretty obvious on his face. "Jacky", the Reaper murmured. "Why do you think I am even here?"

For something good for a change...?  
Jack didn't really know what he expected. But with Genji knocked out and possibly badly injured and Jesse missing... he just had expected 'something'. 

So he let out a deep and tired exhale - and let it be. Like he did every time back then. It seemed like they had no time for this. "What's the plan", he asked dryly. 

Hanzo Shimada observed their exchange and hummed in deep amusement. "You can't change either, can you? Always a complete let-down."

The Reaper changed position so fast, Angela shrieked as the drought from his movement tangled her hair. "Shut your shitspilling trap, arsehole, or I swear to god, I will paint the walls with your insides!"

Hanzo wasn't intimidated in the slightest, which was weird because the Reaper took the form of some unholy monstrosity with too many eyes and way too long teeth. 

Hanzo, as his opponent, bared his teeth in return in a way too mean spirited grin. "Bulls eye. Told you, I don't miss my shots. Ask yourself why it hurts so much for a change. "

The Reaper flung his arm out and crashed his balled fist down on Angelas work desk. The brute force of his fist caused the materials to bent, leaving a visible imprint. "I won't take character lectures from a fratricide committing assassin that killed his entire family on a rare moment of clarity between bad and even worse life decisions!!"

"Well, you should", said Hanzo with stunning confidence and without any hesitation. "Then you might see the monster in the mirror that Talon made of you."

Gabriel snarled viciously, before he stiffly turned back to Jack. "One hour twenty. Then Talon is here. "

He was gone in the blink of an eye. 

Jack sniffed angrily. "Hanzo Shimada?"

The guy turned and wrinkled his nose in a sneer. "My name is 'Hattori Yoshida'. Very much irritated to meet you, Mr. Morrison."  
Jack let out a snort. "That's 'Sir' to you."

Genjis eyes went suddenly wide. "Hattori?!"

His brother turned in his direction and an entire silent conversation seemed to take place, just with a series of exchanged looks and expressions. Till the moment Hanzos - Hattoris - face flushed a bright and angry red. "Shut your damn trap!"

Genji let out a burst of astonished giggles without looking away. "Well, I didn't say anything, did I?"

Jack had no time for this. "Have you any kind of desire to kill or harm your brother again?"  
Hattoris look turned sour. "Right at this moment?!"

Genji broke out into almost hysterical laughter. He sank even heavier into Lúcios arms, who still stood with an skeptical eye on Hanzo right behind him. 

Jack took that as a 'no'. 

"I'll be in my quarters. Athena? Set alert code red and warn the others. We have to prepare."

"Of course, Commander Morrison."

Angela held her arms tightly crossed over her chest, while she observed him from the side. "You didn't know what you were doing at all, were you?", she asked, but no longer in anger. Just curiosity... and something that felt that little bit too much like pity. 

"No. Not really. And apparently I never did."

Jack felt tired and done. With a last look to sleeping Lena and a clap to Genjis shoulder, he left. 

In his quarters he got into his gloves and jacket before he checked his pulserifle, that he laid out yesterday afternoon on his table for a cleaning. It was a familiar weight in his arms, but he wished he could finally get rid of it. Of everything that happened. 

As he stood in front of his mirror he felt kind of ridiculous. He was too old for this. Besides the pains of growing old, he got to live to be sixty years old this year. That made over forty years of active service.

He glanced to the broken visor he kept on his desk as a sort of memorial. He felt like he gave his everything for a better future and everything literally exploded in his face. And now even with Gabriel near... He wasn't really 'with' him. 

"Jacky... ", murmured the Reaper behind him and Jack wasn't even surprised to see him in the reflection. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and let it out even slower before he turned around. 

The Reaper hadn't even the decency to look in any kind ashamed. "Jack", he murmured again. "You know I can't deny them if they pay me and I still want to be deep enough inside tomorrow to make a difference."

Jack shrugged tiredly and wrinkled his nose. "Do you?"

The Reaper, even with his mask still on, looked taken aback. "I-... "

"You could always make a difference. Here, with us", Jack stated. "Everything you hated about Over- and even Blackwatch is gone now. No press conferences, no UN council, no law restrictions... Or is it just so, that you got accustomed to killing wherever you go?"

The Reaper bristled noticeable with a growl so deep that Jack could feel it in the soles of his feet from three entire steps away. But he didn't answer. He wouldn't give anyone an explanation or a justification for his actions. Gabriel always did what he felt was right and justified. In his opinion the outcome was worth everything he did. 

"My hands are tied, Jack", he growled and again his name sounded like the crudest slur on the Reapers tongue. "I can't help you and your little bunch of wannabe heros out every time things get messy."

Jack couldn't hold his laugh in. "You know, you sound like a negaverse mirror version of myself", he snorted. "'Sorry dear, my hands are tied. Can't help out with the doing the good thing and be helpful stuff!'. Holy hell, 'Gabe'. You got messed up in politics. Just the even weirder evil kind. "

Gabriel didn't see the humor it seemed. He just stood and stared eerily still with just a tilt of his head. Jack hated that damn mask so much right now. His shoulders sagged noticeably. "What about Jesse?"

The Reaper huffed and growled impatiently. "I cant just intervene there, Jack. Even if I somehow knew where they held him. This isn't some kind of Deadlock incident. To get him out would be a hell of a job, because for that I would have to ask questions", he said. "And I can't afford to ask any, because the Reaper just doesn't. I gave eight long years of my miserable excuse of a life to get to where I am now and I won't sabotage this mission."

Jack let out an ugly snort as he got reminded of his own 'no questions asked' mentality. He never asked because he trusted too much. And Gabe didn't because he couldn't trust anyone. What a nice change of things. 

"Why didn't they just kill him, Gabe?", he asked without really needing an answer. The Reaper delivered anyway. "Because he makes a convenient hostage, if the assault mission fails. And if they can wear him down enough, they get a uniquely skilled agent with a brain full of inside information", he stated in a neutral tone of voice. 'Wear them down' was always Gabriels phrase of choice with the underlying meaning of 'torture them brainless'. 

Jack was so sick of it all. 

"Are they planning to create another Widowmaker?", he asked rigidly. "Another Reaper? Another monstrous shadow to haunt us all? "

The Reaper didn't answer this time but he didn't have to. If Talon got the opportunity to 'wear Jesse down', Overwatch wouldn't get him back even if they did. Talon was excellent at programming moles and drones. 

"We have to bring him home, Gabe", Jack murmured so very angry. The Reaper growled deeply in answer. "Jack. I 'promise' you, we will get them for this. We-..."

"DON'T -...", exploded Jack right in his face so furious he felt his face turn white as chalk. He had to hold his breath for five whole seconds to get his shoulders to relax again. "Don't make this about you and your damn petty revenge plots."

The Reaper startled and took an unsure step back at Jacks sudden shout. "My-... My what now?!"

Jack was tired after a whole day and a whole night of worries and senseless drinking. He was furious and venomous like a stepped on snake and there were just so many things he never said to Gabriels face. Not even when they were fighting, because Jack knew Gabriels intentions were mostly good and to fight him about it never seemed fair and right and-... 

Jack kept defending him in front of others, even in formal settings, for so many years and now... he just couldn't. He was so done and tired with everything. He tried to get his head cool and clear. He wanted to play it fair. Heavily he hieved the Pulserifle back on his desk before he took a step nearer. The Reaper observed him in the same way like that night in Dorado. 

"Gabe", he muttered with emphasis. "There always were only two motives for you to fight for", he lifted one finger and then another. "One is pure venomous spite and the other revenge." 

The Reaper stared eerily, but huffed a humorless laugh in the end, because at least he was honest enough to agree with that one. "I guess so."

Jack took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. He had to get this out. Things could never be fixed anyway, so why was this so hard...?! 

"You have your personal interests like anyone else these days", he finally said. "But... please... for the love of god, don't pretend to fight this war for anyone else but yourself."

As he opened his eyes again, the Reapers stare seemed to cut through his eyes right into his skull. His red eyes glimmered wickedly as he took a daring step forward. 

"...You-... How does this have anything-... What the fuck do you want to say, Jack?!", he screeched while his form quivered and bristled for a fight. It would just need one moment to gather a bit of momentum and they both would be right back on track for a sad and nostalgic shouting match. Back to the good old times. The times were Jack loved too much to speak up and fucked up everything in the process. Well, not this time. 

"Shut your mouth, Gabriel Reyes and listen to me just for once in your god damn life!"

He was so furious the heat of it burned his throat and set his skin on fire. "When you fought in the crisis, you never did it to save mankind or some idealistic bullshit. You did it because crushing Omnics after what they did to you and your family made you feel better", Jack growled in open challenge and dug his heels in as Gabriel leaned down in equal parts begging for an opening to let out some steam. "You always argued because the outcome was the same the motives shouldn't matter, but the point is you never would do shit for anyone, Your mates, civilians or even your loved ones, if it would clash in some way with one of your chosen goals." 

The Reapers hackles rose like spiking fur of a blood starved beast. "I saved your ass, cabrón, dozens and dozens of times! I saved hundreds with what I did, I-... "

"Even millions, I 'know', Gabe. Because I was 'there'!", Jack cut him short. "The problem isn't that you saved people, but that there were so damn many you stepped over and labeled 'necessary sacrifices' without even trying to make the good choice! 'That's' why they didn't pick you for Strikecommander!"

Well, the official version. Jack had a feeling, that it had been a mix of Gabriel getting too much work done with questionable methods and additionally being not as easily manipulated in an official setting. The thought made him even more furious, even if the reason behind it wasn't fair at all. 

But the Reaper, utterly taken aback, thank god, didn't catch Jack on the details of his anger. He looked like he was ready to throttle him but mostly he seemed confused. "You-... You want to do 'this'? now?!"

"No time like the present", Jack growled as he stepped right into the Reapers space. "Your way of thinking about everyone, even yourself, as expendable, made you the best strategic Officer in the field I ever got to see. But besides that it is the unhealthiest mind-set to ever exist, it gave you no hero points and you always hated to play nice with others, anyway. You weren't fit for the Job description, because the biggest chunk of work ended up to be walking on eggshells and smile into cameras while doing so."

"Are you-... ", The Reaper wasn't even angry. Not really. "Seriously lecturing me about my public image? Now?! What the fuck do you even want to say?!"

And Jack noticed that he got lost. Groaning he let his head fall into his hands. "It isn't about your image", he murmured into his hands and tried to follow his own racing thoughts. He was so tired and angry for so many different reasons it was hard to pick them all apart, but right now... 

"You know", he huffed exhaustively. "When people demand sacrifices from you, they usual mean stuff that hurts 'yourself'. When losing Jesse is 'a sacrifice that you are willing to take' for the greater good... or the lifes of hundreds of civilians... well, it's the reason you weren't picked all over again."

Jack rubbed his face while he tried to ignore the squirming sensation in his chest, not only caused by anxiety and years old anger. As he looked up again he drew with two fingers over his own scars. "And why were you so keen on hunting 'me' the moment you got to know who I was?"

The Reaper noticeably hesitated. "I-... I was... "

"Because of petty revenge. You were already inside Talon, doing your Job and whatever it is you do to decimate them. But you still went after me. Because I didn't look roughed up enough for your taste", Jack muttered full of sorrow. "You were furious that after everything that happened, I got out mostly unharmed while you got turned into... this."

The Reaper stood still while his shoulders sagged. He didn't vanish or readied himself for an attack. This time he just stood and listened. A moment like this was basically unheard of, thought Jack with a bitter taste on his tongue. 

"Think about 'why' you want to bring Talon down undetected from the inside, Gabriel. You want to stay in good graces so badly that you are willing to take the death of your-..."

"He isn't my god damn son, Jack!"

"Then you shouldn't have adopted him in all but legal terms and harassed me until I signed a seventeen year old runaway into active service", Jack commented dryly. Jesse was his in all but name and he would be damned before he let Gabriel get away with that one. "But I digress. For someone like you it would be so much more efficient to attack your opponents outright in the open. You are a god damn enhanced supersoldier who can basically slide through walls. "

Jack lifted his hands in a gesture of defeat. 

"But no, you don't want to take Talon apart by bits. You wait for this perfect opportunity to rip them apart with a big bang from inside. Because they did the same, infiltrated your workplace for years, even through openly killing you would have been easier. But they wanted to send a message and now you want to throw that message right back into their faces. "

Jack felt bone tired. All he wanted was to sit down and rest. He felt like he could use a rest that lasted him years. 

"Please, Gabriel, I love you", he muttered and closed his eyes. "I loved you for forty years. I won't stop now. But I am done with being your shield. You want to bring down a Monster while becoming an even bigger one? If it's the only thing that keeps you at peace, do it." 

He felt his heart squeeze painfully as he looked up. The Reaper stood still, his hand lifted while his talons almost traced Jacks skin. "Jack..."

Jack leaned into the ghostly touch and lifted a hand to cover the Reapers. "But", he murmured, "I won't be part of that. I can't be. if I have to fight you, because you are more invested in protecting your cover than to fight the actual bad guys, I will. Because I have to. "

The following silence was deafening. Gabriel didn't say anything, but tilted his head in that unsettling way. His thumb stretched and caressed Jacks cheekbones in the manner of someone too deep in thought to actually know what they were doing. His silence ended with a deep rumbling hum that was more a defeated sigh. 

"And I thought having no morals is the biggest plus when fighting a war", he growled while his left arm sneaked around Jacks waist. As he was hugged close again Jack closed his eyes and simply leaned in. "The war is over, Gabriel. It doesn't work like that."

The Reaper let out a deep huff. "Over, huh? 'Fighting this war not for others, but for myself'. You don't belief it either."

Jack lifted his arms around the Reapers neck and pulled him into a strong hug. "...no."

They stood for way too long just like this. As touch starved as Jack always used to be, it felt like a long needed recharge of drained batteries. Even after this fight that never was truly over and done with. Gabriel hadn't even said his part of the play this time. 

"Make sure to stay away as much as you can. I don't 'want' to fight you... ", Jack mumbled into his shoulder. The Reaper let out a humorless snort. "Don't hurt yourself, old Soldier. Still have the EMP?"

"I won't use it. "  
"Jack-... "

"I. Won't. Use. It."

The thought alone made Jack feel ill. 

"Just... please, Gabe...be one of the good guys for once", he laughed nervously. "I know it's embarrassing and not your style at all. But... You always just could retire with me when it's done. We could quit the field for the next scary commanders and their blond arm candy."

The Reapers Claws clapped the back of his head in a slow mocking pace. "There, there boy scout. Always selling yourself so short. When we got through this, both alive, healthy and bored, I will take you somewhere nice. Think of it, we never had a proper date. "

Jack hummed lowly. "Well, we had that time on the roof."

The Reaper laughed. "A 'proper' date, Jack. The real thing. Candles, a nice meal, subtle music... Some day I want to take you out like I should have the days we met."

Jack couldn't hold in his laugh. "That sounds like a threat. "

The Reaper hesitated. "Well... comes with the public Image, I guess. "

Jack let out a deep and exhausted sigh, while he leaned a little heavier in the Reapers embrace. "Please, Gabe. Whatever you do. Remember you are a Person, too. You are not expandable. You will be missed. You are 'loved'. "

With a deep and tired huff he finally let go of him and lifted the Pulserifle back into his arms. It felt a lot heavier than before. "But stay away from the kids or I will knock you days ahead. "

The Reaper grinned. Not that Jack could see, but he could hear that shit eating grin like it was burned into his brain. "I will open the east gates. Sombra sadly wasn't able to deactivate all the security systems, so if you could just lead the troops to the cliff side you will be golden." 

And with that the Reaper puffed out into a big cloud of oily black smoke and was gone in the blink of an eye as silently as he appeared. Jacks shoulders sagged and he was not sure if he felt defeated or relieved. It could have been both. 

"Thanks... I guess... "


End file.
